1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tape measure display container, but particularly to a packaging form display container that deters theft, and to a tape measure accommodated in that display container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Packaging forms for the sale of tape measures at retail stores and the like are changing from box packaging wherein the contents are not visible to film pack packaging wherein the contents are visible. Using packaging containers comprising a cardboard base and a transparent material wherein is formed a concavity capable of accommodating the tape measure, the edges whereof are folded back to join the peripheral edge of the cardboard base, the tape measure can be packaged and displayed hanging up. The volume of sales of tape measures packaged in film packs handled in large supermarkets and DIY shops is growing year by year. In large supermarkets and DIY shops, the display location is removed some distance from the register, as a consequence whereof loss due to theft in the stores is increasing.
The modus operandi employed by the thieves is to remove the transparent material portion of the film pack packaging from the cardboard base, remove the tape measure that is the article contained, leave the transparent material and cardboard base hanging in the store, and act as though the tape measure was carried into the store from the outside, thus making it difficult to determine whether or not it is a stolen item.
There is also a form of display wherewith a simple display container is used and the tape measure is attached only to the cardboard base without using a film pack. In the present invention, such a cardboard base that is of such form that the tape measure is displayed using only the cardboard base is also called a display container. With a form wherewith no film pack is used, the tape measure can easily be removed from the cardboard base, wherefore the danger of theft is great.
Store owners have combated such theft as this using mirrors and augmenting their surveillance staff, but such measures result in increased costs, and the current situation is such that adequate attention cannot be directed to all of the large number of articles.
Given this situation, there is a demand for theft-deterrent packaging forms. One possible countermeasure is to make it difficult to separate the transparent material portion and the cardboard base by increasing the number of staples used to join the two together. However, staplers are not very effective in completely securing the transparent material portion to the cardboard base, and there is also an environmental problem in that prudent disposal becomes difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,472 issued to Pendergraph et al. discloses a package wherewith the tape measure is accommodated in a synthetic resin cover, and that synthetic resin cover is bonded between two pieces of cardboard. The synthetic resin cover is made to protrude from an opening in the front cardboard, the accommodated tape measure is made visible from the front, and the periphery of the synthetic resin cover is sandwiched between the front cardboard and the back cardboard and secured. Also, the belt clip of the tape measure is made to protrude from an opening in the back cardboard, and, using the elastic force of the belt clip, a blister pack accommodating electronic article surveilance (EAS) is secured to the back cardboard.
However, because two pieces of cardboard are used, and the synthetic resin cover is secured to the cardboard pieces by bonding, packaging costs tend to rise.
In the blister pack, moreover, an opening is formed to permit insertion of the belt clip of the tape measure and a ramp is formed for opening the belt clip against the elastic force. However, in order to be able to insert the belt clip from the opening in the blister pack, open the belt clip while engaging it with the ramp, and insert the blister pack between the belt clip and the cardboard, the blister pack must have adequate strength, making higher cost unavoidable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a display container wherewith, by the addition of one small part to the conventional packaging form, the tape measure can be easily attached to the cardboard base, and the tape measure cannot be easily removed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a display container configured such that a metal belt clip does not strike other products, wherewith scratching other products can be prevented without the use of scratch-preventing parts.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tape measure that is accommodated in such a display container.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tape measure display container including: a cardboard base having a hole unit therein such that the belt clip of a tape measure can be inserted in the hole unit and the belt clip can be led out to the back side of the cardboard base; an insertion piece having a belt clip engagement member for engaging the belt clip that has been so led out to the back side, which belt clip engagement member is passed through a belt clip insertion orifice and inserted between the belt clip and the back side of the cardboard base; and a latching piece that is latched to the belt clip hole when the insertion piece is inserted.
The tape measure display container may be elastically deformable in the vicinity of the latching piece. The belt clip insertion orifice may be configured as a belt clip insertion hole. The belt clip engagement member may include a sidewall for enclosing the belt clip. The tape measure display container may have a transparent member, the edges of which are folded to join to the peripheral edges of the cardboard base, having formed therein a concavity capable of accommodating the tape measure.
The invention also provides a tape measure accommodated in the tape measure display container described above.
As is evident from the foregoing description, by adding a belt clip engagement member to the conventional packaging form, benefits are realized in that the tape measure cannot be easily removed, and the metal belt clip is prevented from striking other products, so that scratching other products can be prevented without using a scratch-prevention part.